Casey's Grill gets 'mobbed' in first event of 2013

Restaurant.com ambassadors hit the Orlando area in the first of a five-city tour called Dish Mobs.

Nicole Fisher, an attorney from Cocoa, drove in to Winter Springs on February 20 to sample some of the popular lunchtime appetizers at Casey’s Grill in Winter Springs.

“I thought the food was great ,the presentation was nice and we had a good time,” Fisher said.

Fisher posted her review on her personal blog called Nicole’sNickels.com last week.In her two years on the web, Fisher’s blog has grabbed national attention in magazines, including Women’s World.

She has reviewed everything from independently owned Chinese restaurants to major franchise spots like Capitol Grill.

“My husband is a chef, so I am pretty picky, “ she said.

The lunch time “mob” at Casey’s went from 11:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. The whole idea is to create buzz on the web and around Central Florida.

Jen Shatswell, of Restaurant.com, flew in from Chicago for the event and said she had never tried coconut shrimp and thought Casey’s version was great.

“Our mission, really, is to get people to support fabulous locally owned restaurants and make a difference in their community," she said. “Casey’s restaurant had great reviews so we wanted to bring some new attention to the spot.”

Owner Pat Casey has been running the restaurant since 1999 and admits he had never heard of a Dish Mob, but he liked the concept.

“I think Internet marketing is definitely a new way to advertise your restaurant,” he said.

Restaurant.com offers discount coupons to the restaurants featured on its site. A $25 coupon sells for $10.